updated 08:35 pm EDT, Wed April 21, 2010

Bug said to affect hundreds of thousands of PCs

A McAfee update has reportedly wreaked havoc on businesses using Windows XP machines. The bug potentially affects hundreds of thousands of systems, causing many computers to disconnect from networks and fall into uncontrolled restarts, according to Gizmodo. The glitch appears to be limited to enterprise systems, rather than consumer-level devices.

McAfee confirmed that its DAT 5958 virus definition update is the culprit, causing reactions to a false positive related to Windows system executables. Not all updated systems are said to be vulnerable, as the download is specifically problematic for computers with VirusScan Enterprise's "Scan Process on Enable" setting disabled.

The faulty update was allegedly removed from all McAfee download servers, stopping the problem from spreading. The company has also published an official fix to help restore affected systems.

It's not just corporate

McAfee is really downplaying a huge issue

Since when is it better for a problem like this to hit Enterprise than the everyday consumer? When its Enterprise, that means Hospitals, Financial Institutions, School Districts, Colleges. We've been working around the clock to restore use to thousand of users at a Hospital. There are other hospitals and institutions that have 10's of thouseands down. Eventually to cost in the millions to recover from and cost to repair. I would say it is safe to state that McAfee is downplaying a much bigger issue.